2006 Grant - Carrion-Baralt

2006 New Investigator Research Grant

Investigators have found that standard tools for assessing memory or thinking skills have inherent biases that may accurately measure cognitive function in English-speaking Caucasians in the United States, but not necessarily in older adults in ethnic minority groups. Consequently, there is a particular lack of normative neuropsychological data-scores on standard diagnostic tools that would indicate healthy cognitive function-for several groups of people, including older Spanish-speaking Latinos. As a result, misdiagnosis of dementia appears to be fairly common.

In this investigation, Jose Carrion-Baralt, Ph.D. and colleagues will expand on a pilot study in which they collected neuropsychological data on 60 Spanish-speaking Puerto Ricans age 90 to 99 who do not have dementia. They will now recruit 60 new participants who also do not have dementia. Participants will be evaluated using the Spanish version of a tool developed by the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD). The data analysis will take into account years of education: 0-6 years, 7-12 years and more than 12 years.

The outcome of this research may demonstrate valid baseline scores that may improve the diagnosis of cognitive impairment and dementia among older Spanish-speaking Latinos in the United States.